Art criticism, although initially believed to be a negative aspects, involves responding to an artwork, interpretation of the meaning, as well as making a critical judgments (“Art Criticism and Formal Analysis Outline,” n.d). Since every artist targets a particular audience, it is necessary that art critics help the viewers in the interpretation, perception, and the judgment of the work. Such may take place in various ways. First, the art critics may describe the work without necessary placing value on it. One may also analyze the work i.e. determining the features as used by the creator and how the element brings out the intended ideas or message. One may also interpret the work. The interpretation involves placing the artwork in a broader context of the type of art. A critic may judge pieces of artwork by comparing them to others and determining where the work fails and where it is good. Judging also entails determining the value of the artwork. It is essential to consider an example as described below.
Vincent Van Gogh’s August 1988 portrait of a peasant from calstatela.edu.
An art critic may point out at the gaze in the old man’s eyes that indicate thoughtfulness in an attempt to interpret it. The fact that that the color of the clothes are bright shows that the man is not frail and weak and, therefore, has the energy to work. To describe, the artwork, an art critic may explain what the viewer sees. For example, the portrait shows an old man in brightly colored clothes. It shows that the man is not poor since he can afford good clothes, etc. An artist may claim the portrait is not extraordinarily compared to other paintings. An analysis of the work concentrates on the elements and how the artist used them such as the color contrast, and texture, among others. For example, the background is rough.
Works cited
“Art Criticism and Formal Analysis Outline.” N.P. N.d. Web June 19, 2015. <https://www.uwgb.edu/malloyk/art_criticism_and_formal_analysi.htm>
“Art Criticism.” N.p. N.d. web June 19, 2015 http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/laa/aesthetics_2B.html
